Saratoga Citizen-based charter change proposal to be on November ballot

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- After more than two years, Saratoga Citizen's charter change proposal is headed for the November ballot and Spa City voters.

The City Council passed a local law Tuesday night based on Saratoga Citizen's charter change proposal.

Saratoga Citizen submitted a petition to the city in 2010 that proposed changing the city's government from a commissioner form to a council-manager government in which a full-time city manager would handle the day-to-day operations of the city while the City Council acts as a legislature setting policies.

That charter change proposal was approved by the City Council and will now be put to a popular vote of Saratoga Springs citizens.

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"It's a great night for democracy," said Brent Wilkes, one of the Saratoga Citizen organizers who has worked to move the charter change proposal forward for more than two years. "It's a great night to see that citizens in any community can petition their government for change and it can go on the ballot."

The proposal is technically a City Council initiative because the proposition approved Tuesday night was prepared by Accounts Commissioner John Franck, who said it was "substantially Saratoga Citizen Inc.'s proposal."

The original Saratoga Citizen proposal was outdated after two years of legal battles because it laid out a specific timeline to be followed in case of its adoption -- a timeline with dates that have since passed.

Franck made changes to the timeline and the makeup of a transition team, as well as some grammatical changes.

"I tried to replicate it as close to what the courts OK'd," Franck said.

The only dissenting vote on the City Council was from Mayor Scott Johnson, who said he is concerned about the route Saratoga Citizen's proposal was taking to the ballot.

"My motivation has always been to do what I think is best in the legal protection of the city," Johnson said prior to the vote, "not against changing the charter, but in making sure whatever process is followed, it is properly followed by whatever the law requires."

He said the lack of legal precedent for the maneuver Franck took makes him "uncomfortable" and could open the city to legal action from those opposed to the proposal -- something he said might delay putting the issue on the November ballot.

"It's all about process," he said.

Johnson suggested Saratoga Citizen go back to court to have a judge change its original proposal.

"The city is not going to contest it," he said. "That way, the city is not creating any ambiguity or confusion in our community ... that this is a fully city-sponsored initiative."

Public Works Commissioner Anthony "Skip" Scirocco said he wanted to move the charter change proposal forward. "I think we're postponing the inevitable," he said.

Patrick Kane, another organizer of Saratoga Citizen, though, said while his group had a number of options for how to move forward, his group worked with Franck, who is also the city clerk, on the City Council proposal.

"I certainly think this was the right way to handle it at this point," Kane said. "It's been a long haul. We've still got a long way to go, but it's gratifying."

Kane and Wilkes said they will use the time between now and the November vote to educate voters about what charter change will mean for the city.

During public comment, a number of people spoke in favor of the proposal and fewer against.

Saratoga Springs resident Phil Diamond said he did not support the proposal. "I don't want to be governed by someone I didn't elect," he said, referring to the professional city manager who would be hired rather than elected.

Many other commenters urged the Council to move forward with the charter change proposal.

Peter Martin, a Saratoga Citizen supporter, said "I don't know how it will turn out, but I think it's a good idea to let people vote."